Monday, January 09, 2012

But... 3 months after finishing it... reflecting back on it I am increasingly annoyed by it, and the lack of forward movement. I don't need pages and pages and pages of turtle talk, or stone zombie talk. The feeling I'm left with is that GRRM doesn't have an editor who can kick his ass and tighten up his story.

For epic fantasy... I'm much, much happier with the Malazan books. They are plenty annoying at times too. But, they've churned all 10 books out on a regular schedule and built a fascinating, complex world.

But again, that’s not about me as an agnostic opposing those who have faith. It’s me as a person who knows the message of Christ pointing out a hypocrite, and me as a person with my own moral, social and political standards countering one whose standards differ. As it happens, I know a reasonable number of people of faith who feel the same way I do, and have many of the same moral, social and political standards as I have. Do I fear them? Discount them? Think them defective? No; I say “I’m glad to know you.” We believe many of the same things; that some of their belief comes from the teachings of Jesus, or from Allah by way of Muhammad, or from Buddha, to name just three examples, does not trouble me. Whatever steps we took to get there, we’re walking the same path.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; sauté until cooked through and brown, breaking into pieces with spoon, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl. Add celery and next 6 ingredients to drippings in skillet. Sauté over medium heat until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add mixture to sausage. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Reheat to lukewarm before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add bread to sausage mixture. Whisk milk, broth, and butter in bowl to blend. Mix into stuffing; season stuffing with salt and pepper. Mix in eggs; transfer to prepared dish. Bake uncovered until cooked through and brown, about 50 minutes.

Details:

doubled recipe

used granny smith apples.

didn't find any good fresh parsley, so left it out

added some ground thyme

used 2% instead of whole milk

substituted apple juice for half the broth

used Johnsonville bulk mild italian sausage (for this crowd, that was teetering on the edge of too spicy for some)

Next time:

Double the apples. There wasn't a ton of apple flavor, despite following the proportions in the recipe and adding apple juice.